Ten things :: June

Here we are at the end of the month. I'm counting down to our (hopeful) holiday, the end of the school year and the end of the medication for LittleR. Hopefully normal life and nursery can resume soon. I need to be more positive I think.

:: It's exhausting trying to work in the evenings when you've managed a 2 year old's flighty temperament particularly when the work you're trying to do is as riveting as mine. Actually, the work is really interesting but I've reached the end of the line and need a break. I'm hoping to get one solid publication done before our holiday. That's the aim anyway.

:: The British Summer is here. I think it actually might be too hot. Well, we're experiencing 2 days of 28-30C in Leeds then, I expect it'll rain and normal service will be resumed.

:: I cannot believe it's nearly the end of the school year. We have sought and obtained a green T shirt (more difficult than it sounds) for BigRs class sports day tomorrow afternoon. It seems they position the parents in the direct sun. For hours on end whilst small people 'throw long pointy sticks' ("what's that called again Mummy?"..."Javelin?") I'll look forward to that then!

:: To make sure we make the most of the weather, we had another BBQ yesterday. In the last 3-4 years we've had maybe 3 BBQs but decided earlier this year to invest in a gas BBQ. Now there's no stopping us. I think this is the 4th BBQ in 2 months! I made some burgers and bought some sausages - standard BBQ fare.The ABO has plans for doing a whole fish now!

:: The garden is looking pretty good even if I say so myself. It could do with a bit more planning rather than chucking it in and seeing what happens (aka hoping for the best!) but most of it is looking pretty good so far. Let's hope it can continue into the later summer.

:: Somewhat disappointing is this year's strawberry haul. I'm not sure what's happened but lots of the strawberries have turned white and hard rather than ripening. We shared the only one suitable for human consumption yesterday. Fingers crossed for a few more. Still our peas and runner beans are looking good. And then there's a late show for the sunflowers, no buds yet but I'm still hopeful!! And of course we still have some apples on the tree.

:: One major success (for me at least) was the fact I grew a radish! Yes just the one but it was peppery and delicious. There are potentially some others on the way - possibly even enough for a salad!  I've tried radishes for the last 2 years and finally appear to have gotten somewhere.

:: There have been a few sweet treats. My parents visited and brought treats from Betty's.
I have made a cherry cake and rocky road (how easy is rocky road? -I'd assumed it was a dark art!). Now I'm planning my birthday cake. Hmmm...what to make?

:: I treated myself to some supermarket peonies. Finally, I found some on offer. I love how they take ages to open and unfurl and then are suitable blousy and frilly.

:: We took the girls to Abbey House Museum one Saturday afternoon. It's a great place to look round, particularly if the weather's bad and the cafe's open. They have one area set up as a Victorian street then the rest of the museum is devoted to toys and games from throughout the ages. Of course the girls' favourite part is where they can make pretend tea parties...of course they can't do this at home because they don't own any cups/plates/jugs/coffee pots or play food.

Friday happies on a Friday

I can hardly believe it is Friday already this week. The time (especially as I’ve been off work) has just been zipping by. It’s been a couple of weeks of change not only in the season, there’s definitely more than a sniff of autumn in the air but also changes for us. BigR started school and turned 5. I survived a children’s party and the immense pressure of pass the parcel (who knew it was sooooo stressful? Making sure every child had a turn, making sure it wasn’t my child that ‘won’ the big prize – or maybe that’s just me?!). I also survived another bout of sickness which led to an extra couple of days off work for me to care for LittleR (she was fine but there was a 48 hour exclusion period after illness so she couldn’t go to nursery!). We’ve been switching things round at home too. Clearing a few things out – this time of year really appeals to my getting organised side. We’ve changed BigRs room a little bit by giving her a big girl bed and some new wardrobes now the old furniture doesn’t fit in the room (they’re still to be delivered and then built!). We’ve made upstairs a bit more play friendly by moving some toys into LittleRs room so it’s more of a play room for the girls too. I’m feeling exceptionally smug about my pinterest find for Barbie type dolls....it’s stopped me stepping on them. Of course, it could be they just have too many toys....

So in no particular order and joining in with Gillian, here are my happies.

The garden

I’ve been loving being outside. The ABO has been on lates so I’ve been doing the school pick up (still not quite used to that) and we’ve been having an hour in the garden before tea. It’s really helped to ensure a good night’s sleep for everyone! LittleR cannot get enough of being outside. Someone just has to mention the word garden and she’s off to get her shoes. She really cannot get enough of it.

We seem to have quite a few sunflower buds appearing. I thought they’d flower a lot earlier who knew they’d be perfect in September?

 I’m enjoying the second flurry of flowers my clematis are having. The deep red one was bought as it has the same name as LittleR (there’s also a heuchera in the garden with BigR’s name - no one is left out) and the purple one appeared in a flower pot of sweet peas my Dad gave me a few years ago. Can you see the green beetle in the purple one? I wonder if he thought he was shielded by the flower centre? Not sure what he is or if he’s a danger to my clematis but I was struck at the colour contrast.

We’ve had great success with our blueberries. I was a little bit quick off the mark and offered one to BigR about 3 weeks ago which she declared disgusting. An extra few weeks of ripening and they are delicious.

I’m also very pleased with the success of our pepper. It’s not very big but is turning a beautiful red colour. I wonder when it’ll be best to pick?

School

BigR is loving school. She didn’t cry. I didn’t cry. I ate biscuits and wondered about the house being quiet.

One thing I am amused by is the magic portal of the school bag. BigR comes home and messages are imparted via the magic portal. I am amazed by the sheer number of letters she has had already. Also, it has magical properties. She brings home a wonderful creation (or some tat – for example she may have brought home a 12 egg egg box filled with pom poms and wool cuttings and still wet pva glue) which we consider as decoration in various places in the house before LittleR grabs it and attempts to inhale the contents thereby it makes its way back into the magic portal not to be seen again.

We live opposite her school. This is good for a whole number of reasons. However one downside was realised today. The ABO was sorting something in his car boot and she was outside (in a lesson) which resulted in lots of shouting ‘Hello Daddy!!’. We joked that she’d be asking where we were if the car was not on the drive when she was at school!!

Birthday

BigR was 5 on Monday. Five. Five. How did that happen?
We all survived the party and the present opening and all the grandparents visiting before school in the afternoon. She had a fabulous time. She loved her ‘Frozen’ party and her ‘Elsa cake’ (which even though I say so myself, was delicious, and yes I had the final slice!).

Elsa barely leaves her side now.

September

I love this time of year. The smell of freshly sharpened pencils (yes that was a “You’ve Got Mail” quote). I really get the New Year feeling, must be the academic in me never letting go of the start of the school term! It’s been a part of my life for 36 years! And now...it’s going to be part of BigR’s life. Today is BigR’s last day at nursery and tomorrow afternoon she goes to school for the first time. By rights I should be at work but I’m at home as LittleR was unwell yesterday. Still the illness only last 8 hours and she was wolfing down food yesterday afternoon. Back to normal (but obeying the 48 hours illness rule).

Big R is ready for school. More than ready. She’s 5 in less than a week but...all of a sudden I am not. I think I’m mourning the loss of our flexibility more than anything. Wondering if she'll be OK (I know she will). Still I guess it’s a big change for us all. And she can’t wait to be able to read herself. So today I had a moment of what it’ll be like when the ABO is on earlies and BigR is at school. I spent the morning with LittleR and we did ‘jobs’. She’s good company! Loves pointing out babies – ‘Baby! Shhhh’ and anything emblazoned with ‘Minnie’, ‘Kitty’ or ‘Peppa’.

We went to Ikea to get a few organising bits and a chair for LittleR to (hopefully) stop the squabbling over who gets to sit on the chair. I love this time of year to clear stuff out and get stuff done. So with that in mind, I treated myself to a new notebook and some paper tapes there too (it would’ve been rude not to) but managed not to overdo it too much! We had a coffee (me) and some cucumber snacks and animal biscuits (LittleR, oh OK and me) Then, we stopped off to get some new bedding for BigR’s big girl bed.

Now LittleR is napping and when I’ve finished this I’m going to do some of the necessary domestic jobs (clear away lunch, hang out the washing, tidy up the toys again)...and arrange my dishwasher tablets into their new container. That really pleases me.

New shoes, weather and conforming :: days 69 - 78

How is it ten days since I last post? I really buy into the concept that time moves more quickly as you age because each minute becomes a smaller proportion of the time you have lived. That’s why double physics on a Friday afternoon dragged then? I just hadn’t lived!

Day 69

:: Receiving the proofs though for my chapter. It’s always strange seeing my work in publication mode. I always end up thinking ‘Blimey I wrote that, how did that happen?!’ Then I send it to my Mum who doesn’t always‘get’ the subject matter (she's never studied science) but always gives great feedback!

Day 70

:: There are a family of ducks in the pond/fountain outside one of the university buildings. It’s a necessary part of our morning walk up to nursery to stop and say hello…

:: Coffee with a friend who celebrated her recent 40^th in NYC. Hearing all her news. I miss working with her.

Day 71

:: Sticky toffee pudding and ice cream (neither homemade but delicious)

:: Planning to start my socks (see Christina’s pattern) but realising I couldn’t for the life of me remember how to join in a circle…so started some mitts with chunky wool (yes in June!!) as a trial. AM managing to knit indie out but will turn them when I’ve finished.

Day 72

:: On such a beautiful day we took a trip to Fountains Abbey. We went for a huge walk all around the lake and Abbey. BigR collected wild flowers and leaves and we made a ‘display’ when we got home. The flowers have really faded now but at least the photo still exists.

:: Both girls running through the sprinkler in the afternoon. Such a simple joy.

Day 73

:: After such a beautiful day of course the weather couldn’t last. It rained heavily. BigR needed new shoes and so after a very brief trip to the shoe shop (pink , check. Sparkly light, check – all her own choice!) we settled down to watch the rain (and create havoc and chaos inside!)

Day 74

:: Taking the girls swimming again. BigR tried without armbands – a success. I think she’ll need some lessons soon…LittleR loves the water but has absolutely no fear (in water or on stairs or climbing…BigR is far more cautious a person) and is more than happy to get her face and head wet! She’ll need exceptionally close watching!!

Day 75

:: A very, very early rise. Not down to children but to the ABO being on ‘earlies’. Now I could use this time to catch up on work/cleaning/sorting/ironing but I just lay in bed with my kindle and catching up with blogs!

:: Torrential rain – and being inside when it was falling.

Day 76

:: It was the evening for new parents at BigRs school. As I sat in the room on the low benches I was struck by the fact that all the people in the room would have indirect and direct influence on BigR over the next 7 years. She’ll thrive at school but for possibly the first time I had one of those completely bittersweet moments.

:: This was quickly extinguished with the thought of book bags (available from the office for a price) pump bags (available from the office for a price), uniform – most children like to wear the embroidered cardi/jumper with an embroidered polo shirt (of course they do) and please sew in the name tags; iron on tags and indelible markers aren’t good enough. Deep sigh! I’m sure it’ll be all fine when it gets going.

Day 77

:: Time in the garden when the girls were in bed. Watering the plants. They’re really coming along now. Still plenty to tackle though.

:: After a busy day – climbing into fresh sheets.

Day 78

:: Enjoying a quiet moment between the ABO leaving (another very early start) and the girls getting up.

:: Receiving my beautiful bracelet from Leanne. It was wrapped so beautifully with a lovely card. I love the colour – thank you so much!!